After a brutal but heroic 8th Place in the 1928 German Grand Prix, Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin was convinced that the Bentley 4 1/2 Litre could be substantially more competitive through supercharging. There was a notion afoot that supercharging was the key to success, as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, and Mercedes-Benz were all contenders in international events with blown powerplants.

W.O. Bentley, on the other hand, was firmly against the supercharging of his cars. The Bentley racing strategy was based on endurance and reliability, all too often pushing hard at the onset of a race and forcing the supercharged competitors to break; easy victory ensued. W.O. remained confident in the awe-inspiring Speed Six with its normally aspirated 6 1/2-litre engine.

In order to make a supercharged Bentley 4 1/2 Litre a reality, Birkin would have to find outside help. For the supercharger itself, Birkin turned to Amherst Villiers who found fame with the Vauxhall Villiers Special. Birkin, who had set up his own racing shop, entered an agreement with Bentley Motors and Amherst Villiers. It is also important to note that Birkin had the support of Woolf Barnato, who then controlled much of Bentley’s activities.

In order to run at Le Mans, the supercharged 4 1/2 Litre would have to be a standard production model. W.O. apprehensively obliged. The design of the supercharger was left to Villiers, but the parameters had been set; the Blower was to be driven off the crankshaft and therefore mounted in front of the engine. Immediate deficiencies were noted and the subsequent development of the “heavy crank” 4 1/2-litre block ensued. Eventually the design was completed and tested. Although Birkin failed to compete in 1929 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the two intended supercharged cars, June saw the first ever competitive outing for a “Blower” Bentley and July brought the first podium finish.

Production of the supercharged car was agreed to begin that June and a push was made to have two production “Blowers” on the stand at the 1929 Olympia Motor Show. By 1930, production Blowers were being delivered to enthusiastic new customers. That April, The Motor published the first road test of the 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged, which opens with praise for Bentley’s latest creation:

“The recipe is as follows: - Take a sturdy chassis, install an engine rated at 25 h.p., add a supercharger, fit an open body, wings, and windscreen, and make the complete vehicle have a speed range of from 9 m.p.h. to 103 m.p.h. on top gear. Do all these things and you will have arrived about half-way towards the achievement which the 4 1/2-litre Bentley represents. Only half-way, because you have yet to make your car its equal as regards other important attributes, such as roadholding, gear-changing, steering and braking…”

In the end, a total of 50 production Blowers were built over the two-year period. With that, Birkin had met the Automobile Club de l’Ouest requirements to compete at Le Mans.

According to the research of esteemed marque historian Dr. Clare Hay, this Bentley, chassis SM3913, is a genuine example of the 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged model, built in July 1930. Constructed on Bentley’s standard 10’ 10” frame, SM3913 was equipped with a D type gearbox, 15/46 rear axle, and engine no. SM3916, fitted with an original type, smooth case Amherst Villiers Mk IV supercharger, no. 113.

Once Bentley completed the chassis, SM3913 was sent to Vanden Plas in Kingsbury, UK, where it was fitted with their definitive four-seater, fabric-covered Sports body style, with full-length wings, a rear mounted spare, and hinged single-pane windscreen. According to the coachbuilder’s records, body no. 1662 was originally finished in blue with blue leather upholstery and black wings. Interestingly, this body, which was constructed around the same time as the short-chassis Birkin Blowers and Speed Six team cars, features the updated long-bonnet arrangement, a feature thought to have been developed by Birkin and Vanden Plas as a means to provide greater access to the engine compartment and firewall.

On July 17, 1930, the Bentley was registered as “GH1932” and delivered to its first owner, 27-year-old Gerard Bristowe Sanderson of Edinburgh, Scotland. A well-heeled enthusiast, Mr. Sanderson’s family owned the North British Distillery Company, which produced the well-known VAT 69 brand of scotch whisky. He did not retain the Blower for long, as by January 1933, it had been sold to R.G. Wilson of East Sheen, London.

Later that year, SM3913 was advertised for sale by Jack Olding and sold to another London resident, A.C. Sewall. During his ownership, Mr. Sewall had Bentley service the 35,000-mile Blower, including a general chassis overhaul, radiator repair, Autopulse reconditioning, and fitting Bosch headlamps in place of the original Smiths units. After changing hands in spring 1936, the Bentley was sent to the service department, where it was fitted with a larger 25-gallon semi-Le Mans fuel tank, as was fitted standard on the last 10 production Blowers.

Following several years of storage during WWII, SM3913 was acquired by Harry Kemp-Place, an avid racer and proprietor of the Evergreen Service Station in Essex. In 1948, he sold the Bentley to his friend Raymond Erith, the celebrated classical architect, whose notable commissions include the restoration of Downing Street.

According to a letter on file written by his son-in-law, Erith’s Blower was “his principal mode of transportation whilst he owed it, and was regularly used at Silverstone, and Firle, often driven by Harry Kemp-Place. On business it regularly took him to Oxford, where he was working on various Colleges… he would drive it with great panache and speed, and on summer evenings his family would listen out for the blow off valves etc. as he slowed down to leave the A12 at Birchwood, putting the vegetables onto the Aga when they heard them…Raymond always said it was quite the nicest car he had ever owned.”

In 1955, the Bentley left its native Britain for the first time when it was sold to Richard E. Stitt of Hinsdale, Illinois. The owner of Acorn Wire & Iron works in Chicago, Mr. Stitt was a passionate sports car enthusiast who raced in SCCA events during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He cherished this exceptional Vintage Bentley for over 30 years, showing it occasionally at local classic car meets and preserving it in fine, unrestored condition.

In 1988, respected classic car collector Tim Scott purchased the Blower from Mr. Stitt and returned it to England, sharing his remarkable find at the BDC Kensington Gardens Concours that June. During his ownership, SM3913 was photographed and profiled in the 1990 Hay’s book, Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged. The Bentley remained in Mr. Scott’s ownership until 2004, when it was sold to Don Williams’ Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California. The Blower remained in the US for just a few years, before returning to England, where it was sympathetically restored by Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist P & A Wood.

In 2011, it was acquired by a noted European collector with a passion for the finest English motorcars, particularly those built by Aston Martin and Bentley. After driving the Blower for several years, including entering it in the Flying Scotsman Rally in 2014, he commissioned noted Vintage Bentley expert R.C. Moss to restore the car in such a way as to maintain its exceptional originality, but return it to factory-delivered standards with regards to finishes and detailing.

Between 2014 and 2019, the Blower was completely disassembled and restored from the frame up, all while maintaining original elements wherever possible. During the restoration process, SM3913 was inspected by Dr. Clare Hay, who noted in the accompanying report that this Vintage Bentley retains its significant matching-numbers components including the chassis frame, engine, supercharger, gearbox, rear end, and steering box, as well as its original supercharger cover and Vanden Plas bodywork.

The coachwork is especially noteworthy, as it still wears the majority of its original Rexine fabric and leather upholstery, a rarity for any Vintage Bentley, let alone an open Vanden Plas-bodied Blower. As part of the restoration process, the team at R.C. Moss carefully removed layers of paint and dye to uncover sections of the original finish applied in 1930, in order to faithfully return the body to its distinctive dark blue livery.

Debuted at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where Bentley was the featured marque, SM3913 was selected as First in Class from a field of significant 4 1/2 Litres. It has not been publicly shown since, and remains in exceptional condition thanks to the continued care provided under its current owner. It is accompanied at auction by a hardbound book published by Dr. Clare Hay, an original Bentley instruction book, and restoration invoices totaling in excess of £700,000 from R.C. Moss.

Despite its 90-year-old design, the Blower Bentley possesses an enduring, timeless appeal. It remains the quintessential British sports car of the 1920s, an undisputed icon of automotive design, and a lasting tribute to W.O. Bentley’s vision of building “a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.” Among the most original of the 50 Blowers built, SM3913 is undoubtedly one of the finest and most desirable of all Vintage Bentleys – the classical ideal of a 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged chassis wearing its original Vanden Plas Sports bodywork.

This car’s remarkable journey – from its original sale to a Scottish whisky scion to the treasured property of pioneering collectors on both sides of the pond – is well documented thanks to the careful research of D